Babysitting
by Lil-Samuu
Summary: A bit of RaineKratos fluff. Now no longer considered part of the Bliss timeline, see my profile for details.


"Bliss" timeline bit of fluff one-shot :) Bit of Raine/Kratos fluff this time.

Spoiler warning: if you don't know about Kratos's past and don't want to know then don't read, it's mentioned here, thanks :)

When I wrote about the cinema I had the old style of cinema programme in mind, where you used to have a couple of films shown rather than just one along with some other stuff as well.

For Kitten Kisses, who likes Raine/Kratos as long as it's written right. I really hope she enjoys this and thinks it's written the way Raine/Kratos should be.

Disclaimer: No, I don't own Tales of Symphonia. I just keep getting the urge to write, Namco actually own Tales of Symphonia I believe.

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Raine smiled at the comfey, happy scene in her living room. She and Kratos were babysitting tonight and all the children were listening to the angel tell a story. Suzuka and Miles sat in front of him, enthralled by the tale he wove with his words. Hope and Kero were playing with some building bricks, also enjoying the story but able to give their construction some of their concentration as they'd heard it before. Zoe sat in her playpen, sleepy as it was approaching her bedtime.

She set a mug of tea on the table and received a nod of thanks from Kratos as she sat down beside him and took a sip from her own mug.

She was so very glad Kratos has returned to them, she valued her relationship with him highly. She was aware he loved Anna, that he still did love Anna and that the woman would always have a place in his heart. She knew she would never replace Anna, but she wouldn't want to, what they had was different.

Anna was Kratos's wife and the mother of his son. Raine didn't want to be that, she just wanted the sort of relationship with the angel that she had and that she counted herself lucky for every day. They were simply very special, close companions for one another.

They kept each other warm at night, shared private, special moments together that sometimes caused them to laugh later on, earning them puzzled looks from the others, they were just _there _for each other.

She was so lucky that just the sort of person she needed had turned up to become such an important part of her life. As she'd explained to Genis once she didn't want to settle down, get married, have kids. That sort of lifestyle didn't suit the type of person she was. There was nothing wrong with it, she could easily think of some women who it suited very well, but while she liked looking after the children who were settled happily listening to the story she liked that she could give them back to their parents again. Looking after Genis from when he was so young had forced her to grow up quickly, become adult like and take on adult responsibilities from when she was still only really a child herself. Now was her time to enjoy herself, relax and spend time doing what she wanted to do. And it was nice to have someone special to spend that time with.

Kratos finished telling the story and looked over to where Hope and Kero were quietly working on what Raine could now see was a little house they were building. She smiled, amused by the little bricks the pair were using to make their construction from. Those hasn't been available when she and the others had been on their quest to save Sylvarant, and then the two worlds, but then a lot of things had been created since peace had descended on the two worlds and they'd stopped having to vie for mana. It was amazing, the number of things that had come about since people could relax in these peaceful times. Toys like the ones Hope and Kero were surrounded by, radio, cinema.

The pictures was where the missing members of the group were now, and would be at for a while yet still. Glancing at the clock Raine guessed the friends would have probably seen the news reel and cartoon by now and would be somewhere around the middle of the first feature with another film to look forward to when that one finished.

They often all went together, the children going along for the cartoon and napping through anything that didn't hold their interest. But tonight Raine had thought it would be nice for the couples to have some time to themselves and she'd suggested that she and Kratos kept an eye on the children while the others went out.

They'd taken a little convincing, not having wanted to take advantage of the grandparents or, in one couple's case, 'auntie' and 'uncle', but eventually the half-elf had managed to shoo them out of the door with instructions to come back with some treats from the sweets stall and to let her know if the movies were any good or not.

"Oh!" Hope said as she looked at the clock. "It's almost time for our radio programme, can I put it on?"

"Of course you can," Raine smiled and nodded at the radio which the young girl wandered over to and began to tune.

Once she'd found the right frequency Hope, along with Kero, went and settled in Raine's lap as Miles and Suzuka crawled into Kratos's. The brown haired angel passed her Zoe who was now almost totally asleep and she held the young baby, rocking her gently as she listened to the radio drama with the others. She closed her eyes and smiled as she sat and simply enjoyed the calm, peaceful and pleasant atmosphere of the room.

She was enjoying the peace so much that she lost track of time and was jolted out of her almost meditative state by a knock on the door.

"S'open," Kratos called out and Raine heard the general chaos of the six friends entering the hallway, calling out greetings and shrugging out of coats, scarves and boots.

The four eldest children leapt up to greet their parents as they entered the living room and for the next few minutes the room was filled with cuddles, kisses, raspberries and tickles.

"So," Colette said when the noise and chaos had settled. "What did we miss on the radio tonight then?"

Hope, who was sitting in her mother's lap, began to give a summary of the night's radio events, with Kero, Miles and Suzuka interrupting every once in a while to add details they thought were important that the eldest child had forgotten.

"We didn't forget by the way," Raine looked up at the sound of Presea's voice. She and Genis both had bags full of various treats they'd brought back from the cinema. They swapped them for Zoe and Raine laughed as Kratos began tucking into a candied apple with as much enthusiasm as she'd expect from one of the kids, childish delight clear in the expression on his face.

They shared out the treats with the children and the recounting of the radio programming became slower as mouths filled up with sugary sweets.

Raine felt sad, in a way, when the others left and the living room was empty except for herself and the brown haired angel. The noise and friendly atmosphere had made the room seem almost alive.

Then again it was nice to have some peace and quiet, alone time with the one special to her.

"Love you," she smiled and kissed him gently before getting to her feet and rounding up dirty plates and mugs, taking them into the kitchen. He followed her, ready to dry up the crockery that she washed while they talked, no doubt, about how nice their evening had been.


End file.
